hmv Social Media Poll Reveals Best British Album and Film of Last 60 years

Share Article

Music fans vote Iron Maiden and Trainspotting as Best of British after a month long poll

hmv's trademark Nipper clad in Union Jack

The hmv poll was open to the public, and the use of social media allowed fans of all ages to express their passion for music and films

(PRWEB UK)28 May 2012

Iron Maiden’s landmark Heavy Metal album of the Eighties The Number of the Beast and Danny Boyle’s acclaimed 1996 cult film Trainspotting have respectively been voted best British album and best British film of the past sixty years in a major survey of fans and the wider British public.

The month-long poll, hosted by hmv to mark the Diamond Jubilee, met with a remarkable response from music and film fans alike, with 54,545 votes cast and more than 330,000 posts on Facebook. In one of the largest ever surveys of its kind, driven primarily by social media, people were able to select their favourite films and albums through a Facebook poll application specifically built for the occasion.

Iron Maiden's iconic heavy metal album "The Number of the Beast" topped the poll, although The Beatles were the most popular recording artists, gaining over 20% of the votes and gaining four entries in to the top ten. The most voted-for directors are Danny Boyle and Stanley Kubrick, who each have three films in the overall top 60, while the most popular actors with four appearances each are Colin Firth, Hugh Grant and Michael Caine. The Harry Potter and Monty Python franchises also scored heavily among voters, each with two films in the top 10.

Although the top tens are dominated by classic films and albums, well over 50% of voters were under 35, and over one third are under 25, showing that today's youth are still attracted by classic entertainment.

On the band's win, Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickenson commented, "We’re astonished and delighted to hear The Number of the Beast has been named No.1 in HMV’s Diamond Jubilee survey for the greatest British album category. Some of the most influential and classic albums from the past 60 years were in the running so it’s a testament to our incredibly loyal and ever-supportive fans who voted for us. Iron Maiden is a proudly British band, so to win this category as voted for by the British public, in Jubilee year, is very special. Thank you to all our wonderful fans!“

Gennaro Castaldo, head of PR at hmv, said, "The beginning of Elizabeth II’s reign, and the bright new future it represented, didn’t just coincide with a flowering of British popular culture, it helped to provide the very spark that lit the touch-paper for an explosion in music and film talent. Since then, the Queen has presided over the richest period of cultural achievement in our nation’s history, so it’s only right that her Diamond Jubilee, which ironically also encapsulates sixty years of the official charts, should be a period when we reflect on the greatest British albums and films of the past six decades.”

With the poll now complete, fans will be able to buy the titles from their local hmv store, or online at hmv.com.

Depeche Mode sprung another surprise on the chart, with their career-defining "Violator" making the second spot above The Beatles. Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" almost made the top five, and was voted for by Prime Minister David Cameron as part of the poll.

The top ten also includes the key symbol of the Britpop movement, "(What's the Story) Morning Glory" by Oasis, and Adele's impact on modern music is shown by her entry at number nine.

Top British Films
1. Trainspotting
2. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two
4. Monty Python’s Life Of Brian
5. A Clockwork Orange
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey
7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
8. The Italian Job
9. Shaun Of The Dead
10. The Kings Speech

Trainspotting took the top spot with 6% of the vote, and Monty Python's two entries in the top ten achieved 10% of the overall vote between them.

The popularity of Harry Potter continues, with two entries in the top ten, and the controversial "A Clockwork Orange" managed to make the top five. Outside of the classic movies, comedy director and actor Simon Pegg made an impact with "Shaun of The Dead" making the top ten, and "Hot Fuzz" narrowly missing out at number twelve.